486 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 6, 1905. 
The Fruitarian Society. —The annual meeting of this society 
will be held at the Holborn Restaurant on the afternoon of 
Wednesday, May 24th, and will be followed in the evening by 
a fruit dinner, when Dr. Josiah Oldfield will preside. All those 
interested in the production and consumption of fruits, vege¬ 
tables, cereals, legumens, etc., are cordially invited to attend 
the meeting. Early application for tickets for the dinner, which 
will provide an interesting object lesson in the preparation of 
a fruitarian dinner, should be made to> the secretary of the 
society, Lady Margaret Hospital, Bromley, Kent. 
* * * 
The National Fecit Growers’ Federation and the Royal 
Horticultural Society. —It is a good sign when two such 
representative bodies as the Royal Horticultural Society anc 
the National Fruit Growers’ Federation find themselves ab e 
to work cordially together for the interests of the great national 
industry on behalf of which they exist, both having the same 
end in view, but seeking it by different means. For some 
months past the federation lias been holding its meetings within 
the hospitable walls of the fine new hall erected a ; t great cost 
in Yincent-square by the Royal Horticultural Society, and it 
is this contact which probably suggested the following, joint 
action by the two bodies. A conference, has been arranged 
under their united auspices for October 10th, 11th, and 12th 
next., when it is understood the following will be amongst the 
subjects of discussion:—Foreign competition and how to meet 
it ; grading and packing ; land tenure and rating difficulties ; 
railway orievances ; proposed establishment of an experimental 
fruit farm by the Board of Agriculture; insect pests. The 
chairmen for the different discussions will probably be bir 
Trevor Lawrence, Bt., Mr. A. S. T. Griffith Boscawen, M.R, 
Sir Albert Rol'lit, M.P., Col. C. W. Long, M.P., and Mr. 
F. S. W. Cornwallis. As the great autumn fruit show will be 
held in the building a,t the same time as the conference, the com¬ 
bined attractions should secure a large attendance and a very 
successful gathering. Arrangements for this interesting event 
will form part of the business at the council and annual general 
meeting of the federation on Monday, May 8th. 
Bristol and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement 
Association. —The seventh annual meeting, of this association 
was held at St. John's parish rooms, Redland, on the 27th. ult , 
Mr. P. Garnish presiding, over a large attendance. Mr. W. 
Ellis Groves presented tlie report and balance' sheet for the past 
twelve months, which was adopted, and which showed the society 
was still maintaining its position as one of the foremost of 
gardeners’ mutual improvement associations, ihe monthly and 
bi-monthly meetings had been well attended, and the lectures 
given had been of a high order and of great, service to the 
hardeners of Clifton and district. Exchanges had been made 
with lecturers from Reading, Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, Newpoit, and 
the Bristol amateurs’ associations ; it is pleasing to note the 
good fellowship existing between these societies, and it is hoped 
that still further exchanges will be arranged with other asso¬ 
ciations. Colonel Cary Batten was again, unanimously elected 
as president, Mr. Lee as chairman for the ensuing year, and 
Mr. Curtis as vice-chairman. Mr. W. Ellis Groves received a 
unanimous vote as secretary, while Mr. H. Kitley was invited 
to again act- as his assistant. The other officers elected were. 
Mr. Garnish, as librarian, and Mr. H. E. Groves as registrar. 
Fifteen members were elected as a. committee. Hearty votes 
of thanks were accorded to Colonel Cary Batten and Mr. W. A. 
Garaway for their valuable assistance rendered during the past 
year, as also to the retiring chairman, secretaries, and other 
officers, and the committee 1 . The competition for three flowering 
plants, kindly offered by Mr. W. A. Garaway, brought a good 
number of entries, the prizes being awarded to : 1st, Mr .A. 
Shipley (gardener, Mr. Wakefield) ; 2nd, Mr. S. Humphries 
(gardener, Mr. Morse) ; 3rd, Mr. S. White (gardener, Mr. 
Bruce) ; and an extra, prize to Mr. W. H. Davies (gardener, 
Mr. Curtis). A Certificate of Merit went to Mr. IT. Daniel 
(gardener, Mr. Quick) for an Oncidium marshallianum.—H. K. 
* * * 
The Roy'al .Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. —The seventeenth 
annual dinner of the Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund will be 
held at the Hotel Cecil on Thursday, May 11th, when the 
Right Hon. the Earl of Mansfield will preside. This most 
deserving fund appeals with special force to gardeners, seeing 
that it has for its object the contributing towards the main¬ 
tenance and education of the orphan children of gardeners until 
they attain the age of fourteen, and subsequently assisting 
them with apprenticeship fees, clothing, or tools. It may be 
mentioned that since the institution of this fund in 1887 over 
two hundred orphan children have been elected to receiie its 
benefits, and upwards of one hundred children are at present 
chargeable to the fund, at a cost of about £1,500 per annum. 
° * * * 
Scottish Horticultural Association.— The monthly meet¬ 
ing was held at 5, St. Andrew-square, Edinburgh, on the 
2nd inst., when Mr. J. W. McHattie presided over a good 
attendance of members. The lecturer foi the evening was Mi. 
R Fife, of Messrs. Dobbie and Co., Rothesay, and his subject 
was “A Trip to the Seed-growing Districts of Germany.” The 
first district dealt with was Erfurt, and the seed growing of such 
popular flowers as Carnations, Detumas, lumulas, and Cine¬ 
rarias was dealt with in turn. Notice was here taken of the 
great quantities of standard Gooseberries grown for sale. 
Quedlenburg was the place dealt with, and a description was 
criven of the establishment of Dippe Bros., who 1 cultivate about 
9 000 acres of land for seed growing of flowers and vegetables. 
Except in the matter of extent Mr. Fife did not find much 
difference between the process of seed growing in Germany and 
that in Britain. It was intimated that the joint contributions 
from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and the 
Scottish Horticultural Association to 1 the Royal Gardeners’ 
Orphan Fund amounted to about £30. Amongst the exhibits 
on the table were : (from Mr. R. McAudie, Inveresk Gate, Mus¬ 
selburgh) well-flowered specimens of Dendrobium virginale, D. 
splend id is simum, and I> thyrsiflorum, receiving a cultural 
certificate; (from Mr. D. Jardine, The Gardens, Ravelston, 
Blackball) a vase of Tulipai sylvestris, grown in a wild state ; 
(from Mr. Thomas Fortune, Queensferry-street, Edinburgh), 
a finely-flow.ered specimen of Rose Canto’s blush ; and (from 
Messrs. Dobbie and Co., Rothesay) ninety-six varieties of fancy 
Pansies and Violas, which received a certificate of merit. 
—C. C. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be put 
as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; a 
separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
enve'ope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken- 
Anonymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner. 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World,” 37 and 
38. Shoe Lane. London, E.G. 
Cucumber Leaves Damaged. 
Would you kindly inform me what is really affecting the 
Cucumber leaf that I here enclose, also the best way of getting 
rid of it? (M. S.). . 
The leaf you sent us was completely dried up, and asi thin as 
tissue paper. In order to see what is really affecting a Cucumber 
leaf it would be necessary to pack it in a small box with wet 
moss, in order to keep it fresh. As it was, the 1 leaf seemed to 
have been suffering from drip or from, thrips, but whether the 
latter cam© riff the Ferns sent in the same letter it would he 
difficult to ,say. It would be necessary to- keep subjects affected 
with disease or insects separate and in fresh condition. The 
Cucumber leaf was simply spotted, suggesting the Cucumber 
spot, but as the tissues were so much dried ivp nothing could he 
detected in them, as the spots. were perfectly colourless and 
transparent- The thinness of the leaf was another evidence 
that ventilation, or, rather, the want of it, was as much at 
the root of the matter as anything. The lack of ventilation may 
produce a large expanse of leaf, but it is SO 1 thin that the least 
adverse conditions in the matter of drip, syringing, spots in the 
glass, or insect enemies immediately cause them to go Wrong. 
If this spot increases we should he pleased to 1 receive a fresh 
leaf, kept moist by packing with moss in a, box. 
Whiting for Shading. 
Any information about the proper way to make whiting for 
use as a. shading to make it stick would much oblige. 
(Shading.). 
A home-made shading might consist of 1 lb. of flour, mixed 
to the form of a paste in hot water. Then: put 1 lb. of Russian 
tallow into it while still quite hot. While this is melting beat 
up lb 1 , of whiting, and, when thoroughly powdered, mix it 
in water and add it to the mixture. In order to 1 keep back 
any lumps the liquid should be 1 gently decanted into the 
mixture. Before using it it should he warmed and then put 
on thinly with a brush on those parts of the house you wish 
to shade. 
